A self-serving statement by a party is not admissible as an admission against interest merely because subsequent evidence (here, DNA analysis) makes the statement appear adverse to the party's interest; the statement must have been adverse to the party's interest at the time it was made. The demeanour of a witness giving evidence through an interpreter is to be given less weight in credibility assessments. A Jones v Dunkel inference may not be drawn where the absent witness's account is already before the court in written form.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 9 later cases that cite this judgment.
8 of the 9 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.